


Noxious Snow

by XxAlexaMorganxX



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Badass Arya, Blindness, Bromance, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jon Snow knows nothing, Poison, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-04
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-07 11:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1897863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxAlexaMorganxX/pseuds/XxAlexaMorganxX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s Jon’s 18th name day and Lord Stark wants to take him and Robb on a hunting trip to celebrate their ascent into manhood. What he didn’t expect however, was for them to be followed by an impish little girl. As the night takes over, an attack leads to disastrous consequences, putting one of his son’s life on the line. Poison is a deadly weapon that sets the clock ticking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Noxious Snow Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Well I recently got ridiculously obsessed with Game of Thrones that I had to write something. I adore the Stark family so much and it hurts every time I think about them (I am always going to be in denial about Ned and Robb. ALWAYS) so I decided to write a sort of short fanfic about my favourite Starks. It is completely fan material with very little plot, just lots of family fluff and some hurt/comfort. I have already FINISHED – yes you heard me FINISHED (bad track record) this piece and I shall post it in 12 short parts, posting one new part a day hopefully. So yeah hope you enjoy. Also I know the events are totally non-canon and I basically crapped over the map of Westeros to get this to work the way I wanted, so yeah. Whatevers! Family fluff!

“Watch your footing brother, you don’t want that Greyjoy taking advantage,” Robb Stark advised as he watched intently from the side-lines of the sparring match between Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy. It was needless to say that he was already rooting for his younger half-brother rather than the self-proclaimed master of promiscuity in all his arrogance; it really wasn’t exactly a competition to pick favourites. With sharp eyes fixated on the quick moving combat and arms folded in concentration, Robb continued to verbalize every flaw Jon was making while giving helpful hints and the not so occasional praise when he slipped in a hit to his opponent. The match went on as the sound of clashing blunt swords echoed throughout the practice court between ragged pants and the crunching of dirt as boots quickly changed their position between stances. Theon cracked a smirk as he swung his blade horizontally through the air, only managing to the cut the space between as Jon gracefully arched his upper body out the blade’s reach, twice, as the second swing was just as easily predicted to come from the aggressive attacker. As Theon went for the third repetitive strike, Jon swerved his body around the end of the sword letting it stab an empty spot as he impulsively grabbed hold of Theon’s arm and plunged a strike from his own sword down, knocking the other’s weapon from his fingers, disarming him. With a precise and strong movement, Jon kicked the back of Theon’s knee, forcing him onto the ground before finalizing his victory by holding his blade up to Theon’s throat. 

“I win,” Jon grinned, holding his position for a few extra seconds just too really rub in his triumph before finally retreating. Spinning the blade around in his hand Jon took notice of the scowl that plagued Theon’s features as he picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off before – like a child throwing a tantrum – kicked the dirt at his feet after stomping a foot on the ground. 

“Well done brother,” Robb praised, clapping his hands. Blue eyes gleamed with pride as he patted Jon on the shoulder. Smiling, Jon placed the blunted sword back in the rack along with the other various sized blades feeling the adrenaline rush starting to simmer away. 

“So how does it feel Snow, to finally become a woman – I mean man,” Theon mocked picking himself up off the floor, clearly referring to Jon’s long curly hair. He was always such a sore loser, that, and having such a foul tongue never really went all that well together in times like these. 

“I don’t know Greyjoy how does it feel to finally become a man? The only other man I see here is Robb,” Jon retorted turning around in one fluid motion and placing his hands on his hips, barely finding an insult in Theon’s ridicule, having gotten far too used to the man. Theon’s eyebrows crumpled as he took a livid step closer to the other male, “watch it bastard, I’m older than both you and Robb,” he snarled, gritting his teeth. In no longer than another breath, Theon was face to face with Jon who looked utterly unimpressed and not even the slightest bit intimidated by the invasion of personal space at the male he literally just beat in combat.

“Don’t call him that Theon,” Robb sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. He had heard this nickname one too many times. Despite its truth he still didn’t find it appropriate for someone he cared so deeply about, especially when the word still so clearly hurt Jon even if he didn’t show it. 

“Why not? It is what he is after all, Lord Stark’s enormous,” Theon leant closer not noticing Robb straighten up beside them, “filthy,” he spat the word out as Jon’s eyes broke contact with Theon’s to look over his head at the new visitor, “mistake.” 

“And what Theon is my enormous filthy mistake?” Lord Stark questioned raising an eyebrow, giving his signature scolding look. Theon froze, the colour from his face drained as he swallowed hard, which seemed to amuse both Jon and Robb. 

“Well?” Ned continued. Choking on words, Theon turned around with a jitter in his step. With a gaze that was locked on the floor, he shook his head vigorously, “n-nothing my Lord…I was just…taking my leave,” he stuttered before darting off in a direction that didn’t mean cruel punishment for insulting the great Lord Stark of Winterfell. Eddard Stark paid little attention to the leave of his ward before turning his sight to Jon by gracing his face with a warm smile.

“And how is my son on his eighteenth name day?” Lord Stark placed a hand on Jon’s shoulder while the other was purposely out of sight behind him. 

“I’m good, thank you father,” Snow answered crisply mirroring his father’s expression. 

“That’s good to hear, I have something for you,” Ned stepped back to reveal the present he had been hiding. Holding it flat out in his palms to show its great length and it’s ivory carved wolf at the hilt, Jon’s dusky grey eyes lit up as he took in the view of the glittering Valyrian steel that burnt brightly in the sun’s glorious light. Snow felt his jaw go slack as it took him all the control he could muster to not let his mouth fall agape to this amazing, completely out of his league gift.

“There is no use just staring at it, take it,” Eddard chuckled urging the item forwards. Finally breaking eye contact with the sword, Jon looked up at his father with some rare form of disbelief before shaking his head, “I can’t accept this.”  
Taken back by Jon’s reaction Ned frowned, “and why not?”

“Father, this is such a lordly gift, wouldn’t it serve better suited giving it to your true heir rather than your bastard son?” Although it hurt to say such words and to turn down a gift that Snow would definitely be more than willing to accept under other circumstances, he knew he had no choice. 

“Is that what this about? You may not be a Stark by name Jon, but you are a Stark by blood and that makes you every bit apart of this family as Robb. I am giving you this sword because you are a great swordsman and you deserve a weapon that will complement your skills,” Lord Stark clarified not backing down on the matter. Snow’s eyes shot towards Robb who was stood beside him, expecting to see maybe a glimmer of envy or anger but he found nothing but a reassuring smile that too urged him to take the lordly gift. 

“Don’t worry about Robb, Jon, I have discussed this with him and he agrees with me on this,” Ned explicated as Snow looked to his brother for further assurance.

“You are a better swordsman than me Jon, but I’m a better lancer,” Robb added with a quiet chuckle, nudging his half-brother on the shoulder. Feeling certain and reassured, Snow slowly raised his hands, treasuring the moment as he took up the dazzling sword feeling its weight and balance. With a step back he turned to his side giving his new weapon a few swings to try it out in motion finding it perfect to wield. His face brightened up exponentially, “thank you so much, father,” he beamed with merriment in his voice. 

“You’re welcome Jon, now how about we go to dinner to celebrate the rest of this day with a feast? Oh and make sure you both eat well, you’ll need the energy,” with that, Lord Stark headed back into castle with a small grin tugging at his lips. 

“I wonder what he meant by that,” Robb uttered standing at Jon’s side.


	2. Noxious Snow Part 2

It wasn’t often that Jon Snow was permitted to sit with the Starks of Winterfell at their table in the dining hall, but when he was, it always tended to play out the same with Catelyn Stark who ever since the baby Snow was brought into her company had loathed his existence. It was a complicated thing, although she found it impossible to admit verbally she did not hate Jon Snow but what he was and what that meant to her. Jon Snow was the product of the worst crime a man could commit from the point of view of a devoted wife and it was that which she saw every time she looked upon Snow’s face – she could not love him but she could not hate him so the only way to live was to act cold and spiteful because deep down it ached and this option was the easiest to live with. Jon however was used to it of course and tended to avoid looking towards Lady Stark whenever he was in her presence, so today he was glad to be sitting at her far side with Robb to his left and Arya to his right – the two Stark siblings that favoured him the most as an addition to their family. 

The long mahogany table was filled with plates of fine foods from succulent meats, crunchy vegetables and freshly baked bread to crumbly biscuits and fragrant cakes. The Stark children were always known to be rather chatty at the dinner table and today was no different especially because of the occasion. 

“I can’t believe this is your eighteenth name day already Jon, you’re so old!” Arya commented as she took a bite out of the chicken leg she was holding between her fingers – making little effort to look ladylike at all. Catelyn probably would have scolded her if it wasn’t for the fact she was being blocked out of her mother’s sight by both her older brothers. 

“I don’t feel any different than I did yesterday if I’m honest,” Jon chuckled in response enjoying the freshly baked kidney pie in front of him which was now half eaten and smothered in extra gravy, the way he liked it. 

“Can I see it?” Arya asked, earning herself a puzzled look from Jon, “Robb told me father gave you a Valyrian blade, can I see it?” The younger Stark daughter’s fascination with swords and weaponry was no longer a surprise to the family, but they were still yet to accept the fact that Arya Stark was more like a son than a daughter except Jon, who understood exactly what it was like to be the odd one out. 

“After dinner,” Jon winked, enjoying the way Arya’s face blossomed in delight as she hugged her him in the best way she could, given the angle and the obstruction of seating. The scraping of a chair and the sound of Ned’s booming voice caught the family’s attention as they all looked towards the towering figure standing proud. 

“I have an announcement, I have decided to take Robb and Jon on an extended hunting trip in the forest to celebrate them both recently becoming men, I plan to leave an hour after dinner while we still have enough light,” Lord Stark declared turning his gaze towards the end of the table where said mentioned sons were sitting. 

“Can I come too!?” Arya beseeched loudly, jumping from her seat and accidentally knocking her still half-full goblet which rocked and was caught before tipping by the lightning fast reflex of Jon Snow. Ned shook his head, “no Arya, the woods is no place for a little girl; this is just for your brothers.” The youngest daughter pouted and crossed her arms, dramatically sitting herself back down on her seat with a huff while muttering under her breath about how unfair her father was being. 

“Maybe when you get a little older I’ll take you on a little hunting trip, just don’t tell your mother I said this,” Jon whispered leaning close to his sister knowing that if he was overheard Catelyn would surely want his head, he didn’t need to give her anymore reason to hate him.

“Really?” Arya smiled as Jon nodded matching the reaction. There were no words to describe how much he loved his siblings, he truly would do anything for them.

“And why is that you do such a thing for your bastard child, rather than your own son, why could you not have done it for Robb’s name day!?” Catelyn reprimanded turning a once lively atmosphere sour. Her almost furious voice clawed the air as it left her mouth and took damage in Jon’s ears in particular. Feeling a shred of rejection once again pierce his heart, Jon suddenly found his appetite silenced. 

“My dear, this is equally for the both of them, I decided it would be much simpler to take them together considering Jon is only four months younger than Robb, Catelyn they are both my children and deserve my attention,” Ned argued calmly, still unable to fully comprehend his wife’s sheer stubborn loathing towards Jon when in truth he was the innocent in all the complication but then again his view was very different from hers. It wasn’t like Jon had asked to be born a bastard and deep down Ned did indeed wish that somehow Jon could have been born to Catelyn instead. 

“Your attention?” Lady Stark sneered, “Your real family deserves your attention, not the child of some woman you slept with all those years ago.”  
Jon stood up. Without even a glance towards his so called fake family he left the dining hall with the mental excuse that he needed to pack for his trip, though in truth he did not want to hear anything else Catelyn had to say. This was the whole reason why he always felt alienated around his own siblings and that he could never truly be a part of family. He ignored the calls he received from nearly every other voice in the room from the people that truly cared about him because he was too afraid to turn around.

Soon enough Jon found himself back in his bedchambers sitting on the soft furs of his bed hunched over with his prized new sword on his lap. His fingers mindless trailed across the ice-cold metal as Catelyn's words plagued his thoughts and haunted his emotions. Although he saw the Starks as his real family by nature of needing a family to survive, it was hard to be reminded that there would always be a shadow cast over him, one that could never be removed. He was not a Stark of Winterfell. He never would be. But he could always love the siblings and father that were bound by blood. As his fingers reached the hilt, he delicately traced the wolf carving, the sigil of the Stark household, thinking of how it was both a gift and a curse to be a part of. His wandering mind was torn from his dwelling thoughts as a knock at his door became the perfect distraction. 

"It's me, Robb, may I come in?" The eldest Stark didn't have to ask twice to be granted entrance into his younger brother's room. Jon put up a smile as Robb emerged from the hallway quickly closing the door behind him to keep the privacy.

"I would have thought you'd still be at dinner, last I remembered you still had a full plate of food in front of you," Jon commented, knowing full well that his sibling could not have eaten that fast. 

"So did you," Robb remarked making short distance of the space between them and sitting down besides Jon on the bed. Jon's focus turned back to the blade, not one scratch could been seen on its flawless exterior. A sword that had yet to see battle, a sword that still had no stories to tell and no souls to its name.

"So have you thought of a name for it yet? A Valyrian blade should definitely have a name," Robb inquired only finding interest in the glimmer of metal for a short period before looking back up at the solemn face of his brother.

"Longclaw," Snow answered, finding that to be a fitting title for such a beauty. 

"Hmmm that's sounds like a good name, very Stark-like," the older male agreed deciding that he now wanted nothing more than to see his brother smile. It didn't seem right for him to look so upset, or well Jon's way of looking upset which tended to just be a neutral expression with a hint of grimness and a little less talking. He was never one to burst into tears, but after all the years they had spent together Robb had learnt to read him like a book. Besides it was always the eyes that gave it away, Jon may have mastered hiding hurt in the rest of his face but those dark grey irises told too many truths and were drowned with emotion.

"I apologise for my mother, what she said was uncalled for but the reason why I came here was not to apologise on her behalf for something she should have the dignity to do herself but to give you my present, it isn't as fancy as a Valyrian blade but, it's still something," Robb announced reaching down to his belt and unsheathing a decorated dagger with a hand-carved hilt in the pattern of spiralling ivy and the initials J.S. underneath. He handed the item to Jon waiting for a reaction.

"J.S. Jon Snow," the younger male muttered finding the weapon quite beautiful.

"Or Jon Stark, could be either don't you think?" Robb corrected as expressive grey eyes turned to meet his soothing blue. 

"I won't tell if you won't," he shrugged as he broke into a grin hoping that it would knock his sibling into a more positive mood. Jon couldn't refrain from smiling for very long, Robb always had a knack for cheering him up. 

"Thank you Robb," Snow voiced his gratitude as he placed his two new weapons on the bed beside him. 

"Now give your big brother a hug," Stark laughed, holding out his arms which were almost immediately filled with Snow who hugged him tightly, reminding himself that even through the shame of being a bastard he most certainly ended up with the biggest gift of all. Robb took a particularly deep breath as he pulled away and stood himself up, "well I better go pack, you know what father's like about time keeping, if I'm not finished the moment he is ready to leave then it is tough luck, you take what you got even if it's just the clothes on your back." He continued to the door, "remember to pack your bedroll Jon," he reminded, not turning around as he walked.

"I know," Jon uttered.

"And a wineskin."

"Got it."

"Oh and not forgetting a decent number of arrows, for hunting of course."

"Yes, Robb, I'm not a fool I do know how to pack for a hunt."

"I know you do brother, I was just checking," the Stark heir smiled as he slipped through the open door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? xD


	3. Noxious Snow Part 3

Exactly forty minutes later, Jon and Robb approached the Winterfell gates finding three ready packed horses and the rest of the Stark family already gathered around to wish both a farewell and a safe return. 

"This will be at least a two week trip so say what you need to say now and then we shall set off," Ned explained, hugging his wife one last time before getting on his own horse having already said his goodbyes to his children. Both Robb and Jon stood before the many eyes of the Stark family. Arya was first to react, bolting forwards with the speed of a wolf and wrapping her arms around both her brothers at once. 

"Are you sure I can't come along? It'll be boring without you two around…" she complained. 

"For the last time Arya, you cannot go," Catelyn snapped having reached the end of her nerve with her daughters constant pestering, that and the fact that Snow was directly in her line of sight which always ignited a fire in her veins. The little girl grumbled before finally retreating back to her place at her mother’s side, but not before telling the boys to come back soon and in one piece. Next up was Bran and Rickon who came together to give their siblings a hug each. Bran had mumbled something about being safe whereas Rickon being too young to truly understand just showed his affection physically. Sansa however only made a small nod of a gesture at them both to at least acknowledge their leave but other than that seemed to have a mind drawn elsewhere. Lastly it came to Catelyn, to which Jon decided to clamber onto his horse leaving Robb alone as she clearly had nothing to say to him, at least nothing he wanted to hear. Lady Stark's face softened as she placed her hands gently on Robb's cheeks and smiled proudly at him, "be safe my son, I want to see you home in the same condition that you left. Know that I will miss you and will count the days until you return." 

"Farewell mother," Robb bowed his head. With a kiss to the forehead, Catelyn let go of her child and watched him climb onto his horse with ease. The Starks only looked behind them once more to see a bunch of waving hands as they left Winterfell and began their travels into the wild.

For the first ten or so minutes of the journey, all was quiet as they dwelled within the thought of leaving Winterfell behind and watching as they strode away from their family knowing that it would be more than just a couple of days before they would be graced with their presence once more. Soon enough though, the silence was broken by Ned who led his sons down the narrow, single file pathway through the trees, "it is hard to believe that two of my sons are already fully grown men when it feels like only yesterday that I could hold you both in my arms."  
Jon turned around on his horse to glance at Robb who held one of those 'please-don't-tell-any-embarrassing-baby-stories' expressions. Sadly for both Robb and Jon, Ned had not yet finished talking about the topic.

"You were always such a loud baby Robb, tearing the castle down with your cries, demanding almost constant attention. Jon on the other hand was the opposite – as quiet as a gentle wind, barely ever crying. If anything you were a little too quiet and well you were very shy, once old enough to move you would hide behind tall furniture or under the table whenever someone would enter the room, even if it was me. Eventually, I had you introduced to one another and like you were blessed by the Gods themselves, Robb stopped all his constant wailing and Jon began to come out of his shell, ever since then you two had been inseparable during childhood," Lord Stark reminisced, taking his own glance at his clearly embarrassed sons who were awkwardly looking around everywhere other than their father. A hearty laugher then escaped the older man's throat before his tone turned deeply sincere, "you know I'm very proud of the men you have both become, I could never have asked for more than what I have already received. If all my children grow up to be a strong as you two I will die a very happy man." 

Eddard Stark continued his monologue about his sons, managing to recite as many embarrassing details as he could remember to make both Jon and Robb flush more than once knowing full well that this would probably be one of the final times he would be able to spend with them both. Like he said, his boys were men now and men went on their own journeys in life, some that could take them far away from home. 

As the sky turned red and the sun began to say goodnight, Ned found a clearing in the forest that would do as a camping ground for the time of the moon as travelling in darkness was never an advised idea plus like any other human they needed rest if they were to finish their journey deeper into the forest where the bigger beasts made their home. 

"We will spend the night here and set up camp, we will then continue our journey at first light tomorrow. Robb I want you to secure the horses, gather wood and make a fire. Jon   
and I will go hunting for tonight's supper, there are plenty of deer around these parts of the forest," Ned instructed, dismounting his horse and handing the reigns to his eldest son, "get your bow Jon, you will be doing the shooting tonight." Jon nodded as he unpacked his bow and a quiver of arrows from his horse. Although far better with a sword, Jon did have decent skill with a bow that would more than suffice at shooting down an animal out in the forestry. 

"Good luck Jon, you better shoot us something good to eat tonight or I'm going to cut off all your precious hair in your sleep," Robb warned in a blatantly obvious jovial tone, snaking an arm around his brother’s shoulders.

"Well then for the sake of my hair's survival I will make sure I don't miss," Snow stated playfully, shrugging himself out of his siblings hold so he could join up with his father who was ready and waiting for him at the edge of the clearing.

“I want a nice, crisp fire by the time we get back Robb,” Ned commanded to his eldest who nodded in response before turning his attention towards his other son who was equipping his quiver.

“So you ready Jon?” Eddard questioned inspecting his son for any traces of nerves that could affect his aim, he found none. 

“Yes.”

It took an hour of near silently stalking through the forest finding nothing but fallen leaves and broken twigs for Jon to speak. By now the moons rays were filtering through the gaps in the tall trees, highlighting the earth like lunar lit waves on a river’s surface, glimmering like starlight. 

“Robb must be wondering where we are by now…” Jon sighed, pulling an irritated expression as he heard yet another owl call – which appeared to the only animal in existence in this forest. 

“I’m sure we will find something to eat soon enough,” Ned added, he knew Jon was patient but even he knew that his patience had a limit and this was indeed pushing it. If they didn’t find something soon they would indeed have to travel back to the camp empty handed instead of risking Robb starting his own one-man search party which would be dangerous. After a few more steps Jon then stopped in his tracks to turn to face his father directly.

“What is it Jon?” Ned asked easily guessing by the look on his son’s face that he had something important to say.

“Father…I just want to thank you, you didn’t have to do this for me, you could have just taken Robb for his name day, but yet here we are,” Snow acknowledged, bowing his head in gratitude towards the one parent that he actually knew. 

“What kind of father would I be to neglect my own son? I swore the day I brought you back to Winterfell that I would take care of you and bring you up to the best of my ability, Starks always take care of their own,” Lord Stark disclosed bringing a hand up to ruffle Snow’s dark brown curls, once again noticing the sheer resemblance Jon had to his sister Lyanna. 

“Do you think that maybe you can tell me about my mother now?” Jon asked meekly, not noticing Ned’s eyes as they caught sight of the deer in the distance, grazing on the grass of the forest floor. Ned had indeed heard the question that his son was asking and thanked the Gods themselves for this well timed distraction as he really didn’t have the heart to tell Jon the truth about his mother just yet.

“Jon, look,” Eddard whispered, as Jon immediately dropped his question and followed his father’s gaze towards the animal. Instinctively Jon’s grip tightened on his bow as he carefully slipped out an arrow from his quiver not wanting to make any unnecessary noise to scare off probably the only chance they had at eating tonight. Making his way a little closer to get a better aim at the deer that was obscured by a think bark and many shadowy leaves, Jon’s footsteps were almost soundless. Eddard watched from the background, observing his son slip deeply into concentration as he drew back his arrow perfectly and within a moment released. The arrow skimmed the air and within a blink the deer dropped to the floor in a heap. Jon broke into a smile as he looked behind him to see his father praise him with a pleased expression. After that Snow darted towards his fresh kill followed shortly after by Ned. The deer lay sprawled across ground, frozen in its moment of death was a glassy look in its black eyes. An arrow stood horizontal from its neck, imbedded deep into its windpipe with a small streak of blood trickling out from the well-aimed wound. Ned Stark patted his son on the back as he saw the clean kill, “you’d make a pretty decent marksman.”


	4. Noxious Snow Part 4

"What's taking them so long?" Robb questioned out loud despite not having any other ears to hear it. He prodded the fire at his feet with a long stick watching as a lump of ash spilled onto the ground and a puff embers floated off into the air. He was starving and worried, the cold air nipped at the back of his neck as he tried to avoid his mind wandering to the worst possible scenario. Ten more minutes he had decided, before he would go out looking for his father and brother himself, he hoped however that it wouldn't come to that. A rustle in the nearby bushes caught his attention instantly as sharp eyes left the dancing flames and instead shot towards the direction the noise came from. A small shadow darted past the breaks in the foliage as Robb shot to his feet, instantly grabbing hold of his sword and unsheathing it from his belt.

"Who's there?" He called out, hoping to startle off any animal that he may have mistaken for something far more dangerous. With another rustle he decided that whatever was there couldn't have been too big. Robb cautiously approached the bush were the thing seemed to have settled before looking over the top to see something he least expected. Large familiar grey eyes looked up at him with a sheepish smile.

"Arya, by the Gods what are you doing here? How did you even get here?" Robb uttered in shock, dragging his little sister out of her hiding spot by the collar before replacing his sword back in its rightful place. Arya brushed off all the leaves that had stuck to her clothing and picked out a twig from her hair before answering her big brother who had now crossed his arms across his chest with a scolding look in his eyes.

"Well, the thing is, it was so boring after you and Jon left and Septa had me doing crochet of all things while I had to sit and listen to Sansa whine about this and that! So I snuck out of the castle, found a horse and followed your trail, it wasn't exactly hard and you weren't really moving that fast. I just really wanted adventure is all! I even brought my own sword, see!" A flash of steel glinted in the moonlight as Arya pulled out her thin-bladed weapon and swung it around a little, nearly slicing Robb with it, if he hadn't managed to back step out of the way.

"Whoa there Arya, that's not a toy, who even gave you that?" Robb asked grabbing hold of his sister's wrist to stop her from her enthusiastic swinging.

"My sword is called Needle and Jon gave it me on my last birthday," Arya replied bluntly, yanking her arm out of her brother's grasp before putting her sword away.

"Did he now?" The older Stark raised an eyebrow, slightly amused by that. Still this was no place for a little girl to be and he knew it. Now he hoped even more that his father would return soon so this mess could be sorted out.

"What did you do with your horse by the way?" Without a word, Arya pointed to the fourth horse that was in the company of the other three and Robb made a noise of approval.

"I hope by now you have a decent fire going!" Ned Stark called as he appeared from the shadows carrying a limp deer across his wide shoulders. Jon wasn't far behind him as two faces instantly washed over with the same stunned expression when the saw little Arya Stark standing in front of them. With a small, innocent wave she gave them both a guiltless smile while in the background Robb pinched the bridge of his nose, "we have a little problem." Ned dropped the carcass on the ground heavily as a frown instantaneously crossed his face.

"Arya, what are you doing here? You know full well you shouldn't have come along," Eddard reprimanded in a very stern tone. Arya bowed her head in shame and bit her lip unsure of what to actually say to her father about the matter considering she really had no valid argument other than her own stubborn desire to be wanted to be treated like one of his sons rather than a daughter. Lord Stark however could never stay mad at any of his children for very long, he knelt down in front of his youngest daughter and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, suddenly feeling very afraid for her safety. She may have been feisty and for a girl of her age had an astounding ability to look after herself but in a place like this she was an easy target and all but defenceless against the things that lurked behind the trees.

"This was a very foolish thing you have done, my daughter," Eddard sighed.

"I know…I'm sorry father, I just really wanted to be with you, Jon and Robb," the younger Stark muttered wondering what kind of punishment she would be in for after this little incident. Hearing the truthful remorse in Arya's voice, Ned Stark stood himself up and looked between his two adult sons deciding what to do next. It didn't take him long to come to a conclusion.

"It is too dangerous to travel a distance in the dark so Arya will spend the night with us and then we shall take her back to Winterfell at first light before we continue any further," Ned declared. Arya tried to contain the excitement she had at the idea of spending the night in the wilderness for the first time but couldn't hide the bounce in her step nor the big grin on her face. Jon and Robb shared a look of concern for their younger sibling that wasn't voiced before Ned decided that the matter was dealt with and once again shot out new orders.

"I'll skin the deer, Robb you set up a spit roast and Jon, keep an eye on Arya and make sure she doesn't do anything else rash," Eddard instructed pulling out a knife and quickly setting to work.

With a silent sigh, Jon sat down besides Arya with his back against a large tree trunk. He pulled up a knee and rested his arm across it before giving his sister a disappointed look.

"What?" Arya mumbled, shifting uncomfortably under her favourite brother's stare. A hand shot to the grass beside her crossed legs as she pulled out a handful of green blades.

"You know what, Arya. Why did you follow us?" It didn't hurt Jon knowing that she had disobeyed an order but that she had willingly put herself in danger. The day he would see a sibling die would be the day his soul would fracture into unfixable pieces.

"Because Jon! I didn't want to be alone…you know you're the only the one in my family that I really get along with because you understand me and well, I didn't get to give you my present!" Her voice suddenly changed in volume as the enthusiasm returned.

"What?" Jon was taken back, praying that missing out on giving him a present wasn't what drove his crazy sister into travelling all this way. But then again this was Arya Stark, the wildest and most unpredictable of the Stark children. Arya's hand dove into her pocket before she pulled out a black cord that was attached to something that shone silver with a red ruby for an eye. She held the item out in front of Jon whose eyes locked onto the wolf's head pendant that hung from the cord.

"I had it specially made for my favourite brother, I did the markings myself to make it look like a wolf," she exclaimed gleefully lowering the item into Jon's open hand who in turn began to inspect the somewhat familiar design.

"This doesn't mean you're off the hook you know?" Jon grinned wrapping an arm around his little sister and kissing her on the forehead. Nevertheless it was a beautiful piece of jewellery that even he couldn't deny held so much personal value. Arya chuckled, glad that she had managed to put a smile on her brother's face because it really was an expression that he didn't seem to have very often.

"I will wear it with pride, thank you," Jon slipped the long black cord over his head, giving the wolf one last look over thinking about how accepted into the Stark family he actually was – bar of course Catelyn who would never see him in that light.

Once the deer was fully roasted on the spit, Ned called everyone for supper taking out a couple of bowls he had brought with him on his own horse (having for some reason brought a spare) and the Stark family all sat around the toasty campfire enjoying the tender meat. After half an hour of eating their fill and taking part in animated conversation full of laughter and banter, Eddard Stark announced that it was time to turn in for the night.

"So, Arya did you remember to bring a bedroll?" Ned quizzed collecting up all the bowls.

"Er…I…er…I forgot," Arya mumbled, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, cursing herself for not being more prepared when she was already in the wrong for being out here in the first place. Jon unintentionally cracked an amused grin at Arya's mistake, after all the planning she must have gone through to sneak out the castle to forget something so important.

"That's not a problem, you can use mine. I'll take first watch, Robb you'll take second and Jon you'll take third alright?" Ned instructed watching both his sons simply nod in response, happy to take on responsibility without question.

"What about me? Can't I take a watch?" The youngest present Stark member asked with enthusiasm. Ned chuckled deeply, "no Arya, you'll do no such thing. Your mother is already going to have my head for not taking you back immediately, nevermind taking you back half asleep." Arya broke out into huff and crossed her arms across her chest. Once again the Stark sons looked slightly entertained by their sister's keenness to be like them.

"Well then, you should all get some sleep, I'll wake you up Robb in about three hours when it's your shift," Lord Stark simplified slouching himself against a tree and using a stone to quietly sharpen Ice for something to do and to keep his weapon handy if needed. After all he was a father protecting his own children, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to an enemy if they threatened his pride and joy.

Once the bedrolls were laid across the ground (Arya's taking a spot that was awfully close to Jon's) the Stark children got themselves comfy beneath the warm embrace of the covers and quickly drifted off to sleep. Lord Eddard Stark watched from beneath the shadows of leaves with a distant but happy smile on his face at three of the most treasured beings he kept close to his heart. His eldest son, Robb Stark: strong-willed, caring and a born leader, was more than what Ned could ask for to be his heir. Then there was Jon Snow: born a bastard but with the true strength of a Stark burning fiercely in his blood, a natural swordsman with such a soft and trusting heart that understood others better than anyone else. Finally Arya Stark, his youngest daughter that was so passionate and energetic she rivalled all the Starks put together: headstrong and confident she would probably one day become one of the greatest warriors Westeros has ever seen, despite her gender. Ned knew he was lucky to have such wonderful children, not one of them corrupt or foul-natured, blessed by the Gods he was and for that he would continue to pray every day for their safety.


	5. Noxious Snow Part 5

Two hours they received, two hours of blissful peace where the only sound that could be heard was the soft sound of breathing and the occasional shuffle as one of the Starks shifted in position. Despite the task at hand, Eddard found himself glancing up every few seconds like clockwork just to make sure all three of his offspring were still in his sight and had not by some impossible feat disappeared into thin air. Lord Stark's vigilance sky-rocketed when he heard the sound of a twig snap within his radar. Widened eyes quickly searched his surroundings as he spotted movement and the sound of cautious footsteps. Ned wasted no time picking up his Valyrian blade and circled his wrist to wake up the tired muscle. He knelt down beside the sleeping Robb and shook him conscious.

"Wake up Robb, I hear something," he proclaimed, his voice no louder than a breath to not give away his acknowledgement of the unwanted company they now shared who were clearly preparing for a stealth attack. Within a moment Robb was wide awake and boldly alert, instantly reaching for his sword. Getting to his feet he took a defensive stance as Ned moved on to wake up his other son.

"Jon, I think we have company get up." Grey irises flickered open as Jon registered Ned's words in his head, which immediately had him sitting bolt upright. The jostle of movement brought Arya round as she groaned and rubbed her eyes, "what's going on?"

"Protect Arya, Jon," Ned ordered standing himself up and positioning himself back to back with his eldest son, placing his other hand on his enormous sword. Jon nodded, grasping hold of Longclaw and jumping to his feet grabbing Arya by the arm and pulling her up as well before standing protectively in front of her. Arya Stark however didn't want to go down without a fight herself and picked up her own weapon which she held tightly within her clasp.

With a savage battle cry the first of the gang of Wildlings shot out from the trees an axe held high and ready to strike. Ned bolted straight into action as he swung Ice, parrying the Wildlings unfocused attack with his own blade. Knocked back from the lack of impact and from the weight of the axe the Wildling back stepped, Ned didn't hesitate by running his blade through the Wildlings stomach, driving out the man's guts with the strike. As first blood spilt the rest of the group all growled rabidly and ran into the clearing. Eddard removed his sword from the man's belly to block the assault of his neck opponent.

A tall, thin man with a ragged looking short sword made of rusting metal sliced his blade through the air to be met with Longclaw. With a powerful swing, Jon forced the rough sword to the side hearing the screech of the grinding metals before following the movement on by making his own counterstrike. Jon kicked the Wildling in the gut, forcing his enemy to fall onto the ground backwards before he drove the end of Longclaw through the man's heart. Having easily heard the sound of the second opponent behind him with his loud breathing, Snow forced his elbow backwards to be met with his other attacker's nose – breaking it on impact – before spinning on his feet to thrust his long blade into the Wildlings chest at an upwards angle, splattering blood across the grass at their feet.

Robb Stark eyed up his opponent who wielded a clearly stolen steel claymore. The Wildling struck first bringing the blade down heavily from above, a strike that was easily defended by Robb by holding his own sword horizontally above his head. Having next to little combat training the large Wildling wasn't prepared for a counterstrike aimed so precisely and with such speed as Robb's sharp blade sliced clean through the man's throat, dying silver steel crimson. Robb's victory however was short lived as another opponent dashed into view. The eldest Stark son barely had time to react as he saw the tip of a dagger heading straight towards his eye. It was only sheer muscle speed that saved him as he craned his neck out of the way only taking a fraction of the possible damage as a thin slice to his cheek.

Eddard fought his way through another Wildling, blocking an array of brutal assaults that left no time for his own strikes, Ned's only attack plan was to wait for the huge stocky man to tire himself out. What Lord Stark didn't notice however, was the second small Wildling stood behind him with a dagger in hand. Managing to find an opening in the brutes aggressive attacks, Ned tore his blade through thick flesh and muscle – almost slicing the man's torso in half. By the time he had turned around he was met with a dagger. One that was frozen in mid-air next to a face of pure, utter shock. Eddard only had to look down to see a thin, needle-like strip of metal peeking out of the man's throat before hearing the sick sound of gurgling as blood bubbled out from between the man's lips. To his side he saw Arya Stark with a fearsome twinkle in her grey eyes pull out her weapon not flinching when the body crumpled to the floor in a heap. He gave her a thanking nod of appreciation, still not fully being able to process the fact that his daughter had just taken a life in front of him without batting an eyelid.

Robb finished off his last opponent quickly after dodging a second dagger during his charge towards the adversary that hid in the shadows by driving his sword through the man's chest. Pulling out his blade from between two bones, the final Wildling had been defeated and Robb turned towards the clearing, his eyes checking over each family member for any injuries. Other than blood splatter, which he knew wasn't there's he found none which made him relax and instead bring a hand to his own face to feel the warm substance trickling down his skin. It was only a small graze. The Stark family re-joined each other in the centre, looking around at the bloodied corpses still feeling the rush of combat shoot through their veins.

"Is that all of them?" Robb questioned, his voice coming out sharper than usual. Not one of the Starks were yet to relax their defence as they scanned the darkness.

Jon was the only one to notice the arrow.


	6. Noxious Snow Part 6

"Arya!" Snow shouted, only managing to distract her attention as she turned to look at him, not used to the sound of danger in someone's voice. Jon didn't think twice as he ran forwards and shoved his little sister out the way of the oncoming arrow. The commotion alerted Robb and Ned as Robb quickly caught sight of the assailant and launched a small dagger of his own at the target, hitting him precisely in the eye. Jon looked down at his sister finding no arrow which made him internally sigh in relief. His little sister was safe. It wasn't until he noticed her wide eyes and where they were locked onto that he finally felt the sharp pain in the lower left side of his chest. Hesitantly he looked down, seeing the head of the arrow buried deep between two of his lower ribs. At that moment the shock made itself evident as the muscles in Jon's legs gave out and he dropped to his knees with a slight tremor. Snow frantically told himself to remain calm in his head, that this really wasn't as bad as it seemed, the fact that he was still breathing or the fact that his heart was still beating strong told him that he wasn't dead yet nor was he going to die anytime soon.

"Jon!" Eddard yelled, panic filling his every nerve at the image of something he never wanted to see. The protective father rushed forwards and dropped to his knees to curl an arm around his son's shoulders to hold him up. Robb too darted over, finding himself holding his breath as he took sight of his brother and the long arrow shaft that stuck out of him.

"It's ok Jon, you're going to be alright," Ned soothed, worried by the fact that Jon seemed to be still lost in a daze.

"Arya go to my pack there should be a roll of bandage, ointment and some other supplies," Eddard ordered. It took a repeat of the instruction for Arya to break out of her trance, as Ned knew she needed the biggest distraction and didn't need to have the image of Jon like this burnt into her memory for the rest of her life.

"Ouch," Jon finally spoke sounding surprisingly calm, it was all act, to fool himself into thinking that he was totally fine as he began to realise the severity of the wound. Snow grimaced as he was helped by Ned and Robb to lie down, now feeling the jolt of agony with each breath he took.

"Just stay calm, I'll have that arrow out of you in no time," Eddard reassured managing to sound as sincere as possible to not frighten Jon any further.

"It's not even that bad brother, I'm fairly certain you've taken worse during sparring," Robb then added trying to ease his sibling's clear state of anxiety.

"Worse than getting shot?" Jon half joked with shaky words, managing to at least accomplish a small curl at his lips as he looked up at the slightly older Stark.

Arya returned hastily, handing to her father the supplies he had asked for before taking her place at Jon's other side.

"Alright, Jon I need you to listen, this is going to hurt but I need to you close your eyes, relax and take a deep breath, can you do that for me?" Eddard encouraged leaning over to get a better view of the arrow which he needed to remove without it snapping. Jon nodded, but before he closed his eyes he felt both his hands being lifted up off the ground; his left being held tightly by Robb who just gave him a reassuring nod and his right being held between both Arya's smaller hands as she managed to hold back the tears in her eyes for a comforting smile. The gestures were heart-warming and it made Jon feel stronger knowing that they both cared for him deeply and unconditionally. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath finding solace in the warmth of his sibling's kindness. Ned inwardly beamed at his children knowing that he didn't even need to ask them to do what they did for their brother, showing their profound bond.

Seeing Jon's discomfort, Lord Stark carefully wrapped his fingers around the shaft, mentally counting down to three before pulling the tip out. Jon winced, barely masking a cry of pain by biting his lip as the sharp end was removed leaving behind a small but deep bleeding incision.

"Robb, put pressure on the wound, it's going to need stitches," Ned ordered tossing him a small rag which Robb easily caught with his free hand and pressed against the seeping crimson. Before Ned tossed away the dreaded arrow, something caught his attention: a scent. One that he recognised which instantly made his skin crawl. As he turned his eyes to the arrow tip he noticed a difference in colour between the metal used and the tint of the pointed end which appeared as though had been dipped into something before firing.

"Poison, the arrow was poisoned," Ned muttered in disbelief as he angrily chucked the thing out of his sight. He knew this poison and what it did, it was a fairly common Wildling poison, but rather unheard of on this side of the wall.

"What?" The flash of terror in Robb's blue irises was so severe it was almost like a bolt of lightning had struck the deep ocean. Jon appeared to be too stunned to even react to that knowledge but to Robb and Arya they knew it had frightened him as his grip had tightened significantly along with the tremor.

"Will he be alright!?" Arya then interrogated glancing between Jon and her father. Ned ran a stressed hand down his face as he searched for the best answer he could.

"The poison is slow acting but brutal, used for those who escape the Wildlings for multiple purposes from entertainment to using a supposed surviving target lead them to whatever they seek before eventually dying, the problem is there isn't a cure for it in Winterfell but there is Kings Landing...however that's nearly a week's ride away from here," Ned described, not liking the turn this trip has taken at all. He instead focused on tying the silk around the needle deciding it best not to tell Jon of the effects the substance would have.

"How long does the poison usually take to…?" Robb couldn't even finish his sentence with a word and instead swallowed hard, not wanting to think about the answer.

"About a week," Ned then responded plainly, "it means we have no time to take a detour back to Winterfell and I'm not letting Arya go back alone, it will be too dangerous for us to split up…Arya you're going to have to come with us to Kings Landing." Usually hearing that she could come on such a trip would have the young girl jumping in delight, but under the circumstances she really didn't feel all that excited anymore.

"Are you sure it's safe to take Arya along with us?" Jon finally spoke, needing to change the topic on his own mind so instead of worrying about his own safety he decided to worry about that of his sisters, after all it was worrying over her that got him shot in the first place – though it wouldn't matter how many times he would replay the event, he would have always reacted the same.

"No, but I've seen it with my own eyes…Arya is capable of defending herself, she saved my life…anyone would be a fool to underestimate her," Ned smiled at Arya with commendation, "perhaps giving her a sword Jon was rather a good idea."

"You knew?" Jon uttered, digging his elbows into the ground to prop himself up to look at his father with a slightly guilty expression.

"Of course I knew, Jon, I'm a father, it's my job to know," Ned said smugly as he gestured for Robb to move the cloth away from the wound. The sodden piece of fabric was taken away and Ned began to undo the clasps on Snow's tunic to get a better view of the injury which probably wouldn't take very long to suture.

"Robb you might want to clean up your own cut as well, you don't want to get an infection," Eddard reminded, one son staring death in the face was bad enough.

"All done," Ned stated, finishing of his round with the roll of bandage. Jon let out the breath he had been holding feeling the sting slightly easing off as he secured his tunic back up. The word poison replayed over in his mind, it was weird because at the present moment he felt fine apart from the actual wound, everything he had heard about the substance made him think that by now he should have been coughing up his own insides. Maybe that would have been easier than waiting for the terror to start, still at the same time he should have been thankful that he had time left at all.

"Robb, what are you doing?" Eddard asked as he watched his eldest son reel up his bedroll.

"Packing," came the eldest Stark son's reply.

"What for?" Ned frowned, as Robb told his younger sister to get up and start packing herself – not that she moved and instead looked at her father with confusion.

"What for?" Robb frowned with incredulity, "father we should be making haste to Kings Landing, not wasting Jon's precious time by waiting here, you said so yourself we have a week and it takes a week to get to there."

"It's the middle of the night Robb, it's too dangerous to travel nor is it wise to do so with such little sleep," Ned argued, with experience on his shoulders he knew better than to rush blindly forwards. Sure, he would rather have spent night and day travelling if it meant that it would work and he could guarantee his whole families survival in doing so, but he could not and therefore could not risk it.

"But father–!?"

"Father's right Robb…what would happen if we got ambushed again on the road? We wouldn't see it coming in the dark and you know that's when Wildlings like to hunt and if we don't rest, we'll be easy targets," Jon interrupted, he didn't want to endanger the rest of them, with a skull already on his head, having the burden of others would be too much to bear.

"But Jon!?" The Stark heir continued.

"I'll be fine," Snow reassured, deciding he would too believe in that remark. Robb let out a loud sigh as he moved away from his horse and sat himself back down near the still burning campfire, kicking a black charred twig back into the fire's clasp.

"You know what they say about Starks?" Ned then proclaimed trying to lighten the mood as he looked past three sullen faces.

"That Starks are hard to kill," Jon finished mindlessly, right as Arya shifted closer to him and curled her own arm around his much larger one before pressing her cheek up against his fur swathed shoulder.

"Exactly, we are all here of Stark blood whether it by name or by birth," Eddard reminded, managing to raise a little of the spirit around him as his children each managed to produce a small smile, "well I'm going to go move these bodies away from the clearing, Robb you're on next watch, the rest of you get some sleep."

"I'll be taking Jon's watch as well," Robb added, finally noticing the distinct smell of iron in the air which wasn't all that pleasant.

"What? Robb I'm still more than capable of taking watch," Jon claimed, not liking the idea of suddenly being seen as some invalid.

"I agree with Robb, you're going to need all your strength, you may feel alright right no but once that poison sets in, it's only going to go downhill from there, I'll take double watch tomorrow night," Lord Stark decided. Snow grumbled under his breath but didn't argue with his father's decision, knowing far better than to do such an impolite thing – plus there was no chance of him ever winning.

As Ned Stark grabbed hold of the legs of a dead Wildling and began dragging the limp corpse away from the clearing, Jon shifted over to his bedroll, ignoring the pulsating throb in his chest that ached with each movement. Arya collected hers (well her father's – Ned now borrowing Robb's) and placed it even closer to Jon's than before. Jon lay down, looking up at the starry sky wondering how many bright lights twinkled up there and how far away they were from where he was. It was a silly thought, but it remained a hold on his mind nonetheless. Arya settled down beside him before shuffling closer and draping her arm over his chest, clutching at his tunic – being careful to miss the injury. Jon tuned his head to look at his sister, not really minding that she wanted to snuggle up to him like this.

"Please don't die…" she whispered before resting her head on his collar.

"I won't," Jon Snow muttered.


	7. Noxious Snow Part 7

First light came what felt like hours too long for an impatiently waiting Robb who's only concern was now getting to Kings Landing on time as he didn't want to bury his own brother right after he finally became a man. He had spent the night repetitively digging a knife into the soil beside him and tearing it through the dirt. There was now no grass left besides his right hand. Eddard was the first to rouse from his sleep as the sun's rays warmed his face. He flexed his shoulders as he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck feeling a dull ache that had settled in his muscles from lying on the hard ground.

"Morning," Robb nodded, glad that he finally didn't have to sit in silence with nothing but the wind to keep him company.

"You alright?" Ned asked with sympathy in his voice, his son was troubled and he could easily see that, it probably didn't help that he was left alone with his own thoughts for the whole night. Robb ran a hand through his short curls as he thought about lying to his father for a brief moment. But this wasn't the time to lie and pretend everything was fine when it clearly wasn't. Robb's eyes trailed across the siblings in front of him who were still snuggled up to one another.

"It's just…I thought this was going to be fun and now…now I'm worried, my little brother and sister are in danger and I should have been the one to protect them both and yet Jon is hurt and Arya is in a place that she shouldn't be in," Robb's fingers tangled in his locks as he tugged on his scalp trying to hide his inner frustration. How could he one day be the Lord of Winterfell and look after all his subjects if he couldn't even protect his own family?

"You now understand the dangers of the world Robb, this is a feeling you're going to have to learn to endure, the world is cruel my son and people you know and care about are going to die every day…but that doesn't mean today or any day soon will be either Jon or Arya's last. You know as well as I do how strong Jon is and how much of a fight he will put up, I can promise you that poison will not be Jon's fate and Arya, well Arya is much like Jon and I know there is nothing in this world that can rival her stubbornness, not even death itself is going to be able to convince her to come with him without a fight," Eddard enlightened finding himself chuckling as he thought about his daughter and the amount of times he could have mistaken her for a son, maybe he should consider finding her a tutor to learn the art of a sword.

"I guess you're right..." Robb agreed letting a smile grace his features once more. He shouldn't have been so quick to damn his own siblings when he knew how strong they were.

"Well I think it's about time we wake up the sleeping beauties eh? I'll leave that job to you as I go and get the bowls, we can finish off the deer for breakfast and then we're getting back on the horses and continuing down south," Lord Stark remarked slipping himself out of his bedroll and over to his horse.

Robb took a moment to find his feet, admiring the damage he had done to the ground which generally looked like something had tried to dig a small hole in. Standing up, he brushed off the nagging fatigue as he stretched out his spine and made his way over to the two sleeping forms that seemed inseparable. He always knew Jon and Arya were close and this was definite proof of that. As he knelt down beside them both he felt his chest ache when he noticed small beads of perspiration that were littered across Jon's face and how many shades paler he currently was compared to usual. On instinct he placed the back of his hand against his brother's forehead, feeling the burning heat Snow radiated. Worried, Robb turned to his father who was scraping off bits of cold meat from the carcass.

"Jon has a fever," he muttered.

"It'll be the poison," Ned sighed, halting in his movements as his gaze dropped to the ground, he knew it wouldn't be long before he started showing symptoms, he just prayed that the more serious ones would hold off for as long as possible. Placing the bowls on a fallen tree trunk, Ned made his way over to Jon and Arya pressing his own hand to Jon's face to interpret how much his temperature had risen. It was a mild relief to him when he decided that it wasn't enough to cause too much concern but would have to be monitored.

"Jon, Arya," Eddard called tapping them both on the shoulders. Arya was first to wake up, she pulled her head off of Jon's chest (who she found was a surprisingly comfy pillow) and rubbed her eyes with a gigantic yawn. Snow however, took a little longer to come to and did so with a tired groan and a look of discomfort on his face. Dark grey eyes only managed to open for a moment before closing again as Jon found the sunlight was too fierce and caused his head to start throbbing.

"Arya, it's time for breakfast," Ned announced deciding that Jon didn't need to be crowded by an overly-attentive sister this early in the morning. Eddard held out his hand and helped his daughter to her feet (after she had finished stretching). Robb then sat down besides Jon who was shielding his eyes with his palm as a way to slowly get used to the bright invasion.

"How you feeling?" The Stark heir asked.

"Spectacular," Jon replied in a purposely dull voice which did indeed hold a hint of playfulness. He carefully sat himself up, clutching hold of his side as it burnt with the movement.

"You look it too," Robb joked knowing that he couldn't treat his brother any differently than he usually would, it would only make Jon feel worse.

"Can't be any worse than your face," Jon smirked brushing back all the loose curls from eyes so he could see the mocked horror his brother had, despite it being slightly blurry to his vision.

"Are you calling me ugly, Snow?" The eldest Stark son gasped.

"No, I'm just saying I'm better looking, Stark," the younger male shrugged innocently, internally glad that he could still have such a meaningless banter with his sibling.

"If you mean looking prettier is better, then yes, you're definitely prettier than me, Lady Snow," Robb teased, finding his brothers laughter at that moment the best thing he had heard since the attack.

"If you two are finished joking around, there are two bowls of deer here that aren't going to eat themselves," Eddard declared, pointing towards said bowls beside him which were being eyed up by a ravenous Arya who had nearly devoured her own breakfast. Robb stood himself up glancing downwards ready to react if Jon needed his help. It appeared he didn't as he got himself to his feet, a little slower than usual but still without much strain. Snow did although find his joints far stiffer than what he was used to and had a constant light pounding in his head which seemed to throw his balance off a little.

Robb Stark was hungrier than he thought as he started to eat, deciding it must have been from the lack of sleep which had him using a lot more energy than usual. Lord Stark had been the only one paying attention to Jon as he picked at the strips of meat and did not take even one bite of the food in front of him.

"You should eat Jon, if you don't you're already giving the poison a head start," Eddard urged trying to make it sound more like an order than sympathetic suggestion knowing that Jon wouldn't take the latter as well. Snow took a moment to force his stomach to settle before convincing himself to eat the contents of the bowl knowing he would regret it if he didn't. His father was right and well he had told Arya that he was going to be ok and to let her down – well that wasn't even an option.

Before long, the Starks were back on their horses riding south of the woods. By the end of the day they would probably reach the edge of the mass of trees and from that point it was just a long road south. Apart from short stops for food and to rest for the night, Ned knew they couldn't afford to waste more time than that if they were to make it. The problem was, that the timer on the poison wasn't exactly set in stone, Eddard was going at this blind – a week was only the approximation, for all he knew his son could only make it to five days or even be lucky and make it to nine. Nevertheless Lord Stark knew that as long as Jon Snow still breathed, he wasn't going to let him down.

As time went by, Jon started to find it hard to distinguish tree from tree as his vision blurred together into one long disorientating bunch of colours. The motion of the horse's gallops weren't doing wonders for his already unsettled stomach either. The more the nausea worsened the more Snow found himself hunched over, tearing the muscles in his hands as he held the horse's rains with a crushing grip. Beat after beat the pounding in his head became louder and more constant, rattling away at his skull every time he tried to take his mind away from everything else. All of a sudden the constant jostling became unbearable and Jon's stomach lurched. Snow pressed a hand to his mouth as he tugged on the rains pulling his horse to a halt before jumping off and darting over to a set of bushes and immediately emptying the contents of his stomach. He still had enough pride to at least attempt to gain some privacy. Having been riding behind, Robb was the first to see Jon abandon his horse and scurry off. The Stark heir, who was overcome with concern, signalled his own horse to stop before he dismounted and followed his younger sibling with a hastiness in his step. Quickly understanding why Jon had darted off, Robb decided not to call for their father to cause any further humiliation and instead placed a hand on his brothers back and beginning to massage it therapeutically. Jon relaxed, finding Robb's gentle rubs a welcomed distraction from the vicious cramps in his abdomen. Pressing his palm flat against the bark of a nearby tree for support, it took a good five minutes of repetitive heaving for Snow to guess he had nothing left to even bring up to which he finally took a deep breath.

"I think the deer was a little irritated at me for shooting it."

"I guess it was," Robb agreed, "here," he pulled out his wineskin and handed it to Jon who he knew desperately needed the drink. Snow gave him his thanks as he took the item and took a long swig wanting to rid the foul taste in his mouth.

"Is everything alright here?" Eddard Stark questioned as he approached on horseback. As much as he would have loved to offer to take a break for Jon to settle down, he knew he couldn't.

"I'm alright now," Snow replied figuring that it was unlikely for him to need to do that again in the nearby future.

For hours the Starks continued to travel with little conversation between them, what was there to talk about when the air was thick with suppressed worry? The family had only stopped once more during the horse ride when they passed a cluster of apple trees and stopped to pick a sack's worth of the fruit for the journey knowing that they wouldn't have the time to hunt between camping. Jon had managed to eat half an apple which thankfully he had managed to keep down while instead just filling himself up on water. It wasn't ideal but the thought of throwing up again was too powerful of an aversion to issue an attempt to eat more.


	8. Noxious Snow Part8

As darkness began to fall, Ned decided that they had travelled far enough for the night and found a suitable spot to make camp at the edge of the forest. Despite having not done much moving around, Jon found himself exhausted – a feeling he hadn't felt before after doing so little.

"I guess this is only going to get worse right?" Jon sighed as he slumped against a tree and slowly slid down the rough bark until he was sat on the ground. The only person who could hear his grumble was Robb, who was placing an array of sticks over a circle of small stones ready for a fire. Ned had taken Arya hunting for some food, leaving his eldest son to look after Jon knowing he would be more responsible than Arya, besides it was good real practice for the young girl who could hit a stationary target perfectly but had never tried with anything that moved.

"You have no idea how badly I want to lie right now…just hold up till we get to Kings Landing alright?" Robb stressed. The truth was he really had no idea where this was heading, their father had been rather vague about details in spite of clearly knowing more than he was letting on. Robb was still unsure about how he was still managing to remain so calm but on the other hand he guessed he was brought up better than to panic at every corner.

"I will," Snow breathed, closing his eyes and resting his head against the thick bark.

"Hey Jon do you think Arya will actually manage to shoot anything down for us to eat?" Robb voiced sardonically, questioning his sister's ability with a bow as a sibling generally would while beginning to scrape two pieces of flint together to try and create a spark. When he received no answer he looked up at Jon finding his brother's head lolled to the side having fallen asleep. With a sad smile, Robb abandoned his current task and instead grabbed one of the bedrolls before approaching his younger sibling, "oh Snow..." he whispered softly. Gently, he manoeuvred his brother away from the tree and lay him down on the ground in a more comfortable position.

"Goodnight brother," Robb uttered, kissing Jon chastely on the forehead and covering him with the blanket.

Ned and Arya soon returned with a string of rabbits in their wake, the younger Stark daughter having proved her worth as a Marksman which had left her with a glow of satisfaction. Everything they did from that point on was in near silence, to not disturb their sleeping member. Arya wanted desperately to brag to Jon about her perfect shots when taking down not just one rabbit but three without missing once. It wasn't the same telling Robb, although he smiled at her and told her she did a good job there was no fun or no enthusiasm about his compliment – not like Jon would have given. He would have hugged her tightly and spun her around telling her that he would have loved to have seen such an accomplishment himself and encouraged her to do it again. Even though her favourite brother was in her sights, Arya Stark had never missed him more.

The night felt long to the restless Stark daughter who had found that she couldn't get comfy even if she tried. Unlike her brother who was so fatigued from only managing to get about two hours sleep the night before, she just couldn't fall into slumber.

"You know if you keep tossing and turning like that you might set yourself on fire," Eddard uttered, tossing a handful of dirt into the flames in front of him. Arya sat up immediately with a frown.

"That's silly."

Lord Stark chuckled quietly, "you've never been very gullible, now how about you sit with me for a bit and tell me what's on that mind of yours hmmm?" For a moment Arya simply fiddled with her bedroll but then she slipped herself out from it and crawled over to her father who instantly wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders to pull her close. The young Stark looked down at her hands and started to speak.

"Is this my fault? That arrow was aimed at me...if I wasn't here then Jon wouldn't have had to save me and he wouldn't have gotten shot, I should have seen it coming."

"My darling girl don't think such a foolish things, this was not your fault, not at all. This is your first time in the woods and they're not as safe as they used to be. If anything you probably did us a favour, if that arrow wasn't aimed for you it would have been for one of us – it was a kill shot for your height but not for Jon because he's taller, if that shot had been made for anyone else we would already be holding a funeral. Besides you saved my life as well and that holds no argument, I'm very proud of you Arya," Eddard made clear, it was a strange way of seeing an event but he felt like everything happened for a reason and at least with this path, Jon still had a chance at surviving.

"Thanks father," Arya smiled, just as Jon broke out into a coughing fit.

Neither Stark wasted time reaching Jon who was curled up on his side and clutching his chest. The taste of iron filled Snow's mouth as he coughed up speckles of blood into his palm. Ned gently placed a hand on his son's arm and rubbed his thumb across his sleeve muttering comforting words under his breath to try and soothe his suffering child. Eventually the cough subsided but it left his throat feeling like he had just swallowed a bag of burning coal.

"Sorry for disturbing you." Snow's voice barely came out at all when he spoke.

"Don't talk such nonsense, I've already had enough of that for one night, just drink." Ned shook his head and handed him his wineskin. Jon sat himself up, but not without a wince and took a drink of much needed water which extinguished the fire. Even in the moonlight, the flush in Jon's cheeks was worryingly fierce as Stark's motherless son felt like he was standing inside a naked flame. As soon as he had finished drinking he lay back down finding that it took too much energy to sit up, energy which he barely had.

"I'll be back in a moment," Eddard stated getting up leaving Arya and Jon alone. Seeing the unsettling worry in Arya's grey eyes forced Jon to speak.

"Don't worry little sister...I don't like seeing you worry."

"But Jon..." Arya muttered, her voice sounding deflated and unsure. How could she not worry? How could she just ignore the image in her head of a world without Jon, the one person that always understood her, the one person that she could pour her heart to? A stray tear trickled down Arya's cheek only to be wiped away by Jon's thumb.

"No buts...I want to see you smile, there is no reason to look upset; I'm still here aren't I?" He murmured, giving his sibling an encouraging smile. Although he felt much worse than he did two days ago, he was still holding himself together and that was what he wanted Arya to do too. She nodded in response, returning the expression while reminding herself that was no reason to mourn her brother who was still very much alive.

"That's better," Snow declared, having always hated seeing Arya in distress.

Lord Stark returned at that moment and knelt down placing a bowl of water beside him in which he submerged a small piece of cloth. After wringing it out of all the excess liquid, he placed the damp fabric across Jon's forehead to help soothe his fever.

"This will probably help you sleep," Eddard remarked already seeing the relief in his son's features.

"Father, can I sit with Jon a while longer?" Arya asked sweetly, even for her. She didn't want to go to sleep just yet especially when she didn't know when the next time she would be able to talk to Jon would be. Maybe she would be able to tomorrow or maybe he would get so bad tomorrow that he won't even wake up.

"If Jon wants you to," Ned replied going back over to sit near the fire where he had a better view of his surroundings. His eyes trailed over his other son during the movement who had soundlessly slept through the disturbance, clearly being more tired than he originally seemed.

"It's alright," Snow decided. It wasn't like he could deny his younger sisters requests anyway, the guilt would eat him up.

"I didn't get chance to thank you for saving me," Arya started, knowing this thanks was well overdue but was better late than never.

"There's no need for thanks, it's part of my duty of being your older brother, it's what older siblings do, protect their younger siblings. I would have done it every time because I care about you," Jon confessed, knowing in his heart that he would have made the same move for any of his brothers or sisters. Still there was another part of him which would sacrifice himself for his siblings for a whole different reason – knowing they were worth more to the world as Stark heirs rather than being a bastard son who only survived in this world because Eddard Stark wasn't the one to abandon a child.

"Then what about Robb? He's the eldest...who's looking out for him?" Arya quizzed wondering whether or not this was actually a really stupid question that she should have already known the answer to.

"Well, let me ask you this, if you saw that arrow aiming for Robb, would you push him out of the way?" Snow raised an eyebrow.

"Well I would try but he's a little heavy," she answered, making Jon laugh as he decided that maybe that wasn't the best example to give after all, nevertheless the thought was still there and so was the answer he was hoping for even if it was put in more realistic terms.

"The point is that you would do anything to ensure the safety of someone you cared about. The only difference is between what Robb can do and what you can, is what you're capable of doing physically, like you probably couldn't push Robb out the way of an oncoming arrow but you grab hold of his arm to stop him from walking in front of a galloping horse that for some reason he didn't notice. It's just easier for older siblings to do things because we're older but that doesn't mean we can't return the favour being younger either," Jon explained, being able to take both points of view. Although he wasn't that much younger than Robb to make much of a difference, Robb had always taken the duty of being the protector but that was a trait that would one day make him a great Lord of Winterfell.

"So basically we all just protect people we care about?" Arya smirked.

"Well when you put it that way, it really does make my speech seem all that long and pointless," Jon grinned poking his sister in the arm, "you should go back to sleep."

"Is that your big brother way of protecting me again?" The young Stark girl teased.

"No, that's my way of telling you that father is about to come over here and tell you the same thing only in a less friendly, more demanding way," Snow corrected right as Arya looked up to see Ned sitting in the same position by the fire warming his hands, not giving any signal whatsoever that would indicate him moving from that spot. Arya crossed her arms and pouted at Jon knowing that she had just fallen for his little trick, ok so maybe she did have a gullible streak. Jon chuckled, "ok I lied, but seriously you should sleep, goodnight Arya."

"Night Sir-thinks-he's-funny," the younger Stark stuck her tongue out at her brother before returning to her own bedroll feeling much calmer having had talked to Jon in such a casual way. Maybe he would be ok after all.


	9. Noxious Snow Part 9

Sunlight broke through the treetops and left patterns on the green grass below while the gentle stroke of warmth roused Robb from his slumber. Feeling refreshed the young Stark sat himself up and flexed his shoulders and neck. Upon noticing something, he haltered in his movement and narrowed his eyes to then glance towards the simmering fire with flames that just barely clung to life and then to his father who sat beside them.

"You didn't wake me for my shift," the Stark heir noted, wanting some form of explanation as to why.

"Aye, I didn't. You were exhausted from the night before so I decided to take the full shift, I have done many years of taking watch and have learnt to function well with minimal sleep," Ned clarified, taking a bite out of the shiny red apple in his hand while tossing Robb another (which he easily caught). It wasn't just that however, Ned also wanted to keep an eye on Jon throughout the night as once again his condition had deteriorated which left Ned changing the wet cloth more and more frequently as his temperature continued to climb.

"Well regardless, I think we should get an early start this morning, we can eat the apples on the horses, I'll wake Arya and get her sorted while you help Jon," Eddard instructed, trying not to make it sound like he was in a rush, but there was something about the shock of last night when he heard Jon whimpering in his sleep that really left a crushing impact on his heart. Jon was dying. He hadn't really put those words together in his head before that moment and he really hated the sound it made and the echo it left when he thought about over and over. It was a creeping vine that was finally tight enough to choke.

Robb felt his chest ache when he looked down at his brother who had somehow managed to get even paler – now not even the flush in his cheeks remained leaving only shadows hollowing his cheekbones and dark circles around his eyes. Eventually after a few long minutes, some gentle shakes and many repeated calls, Jon finally woke. One look into the sky and Snow flinched as the sunlight burrowed into his skull and his eyes stung like small pins had been poked inside them.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but we're about to leave," Robb announced keeping the volume of his voice to a minimum. With some serious effort, Jon managed to sit himself up, still feeling tired enough to pass out again. Even he had to admit that it was getting hard to stay positive, still, he was a Stark by blood and that thought alone gave him strength even if his importance to the family wasn't as much as the rest of them, hell maybe even Lady Stark would be happy if he died out here, or at least satisfied that she didn't have to look at him anymore.

"It's alright," the younger male uttered getting to his feet. His balance didn't even last the whole way up, if it wasn't for the sturdy arm that had curled round his waist he would have hit the floor. Snow sighed heavily, so now he couldn't even stand without help, he was really starting to feel useless.

"Don't be so hard on yourself brother...I know what you're thinking but you'll get better soon enough, just for now let me help you," Robb insisted, letting Jon circle an arm around his shoulders for support.

"Thanks..." Snow murmured as his brain literally gave up feeling ashamed of needing assistance from another to do such trivial things.

"No problem."

The midday sun was imperious and without the shade of overhanging leaves as shade, the constant heat was uncomfortable for the Starks but nearly unbearable for Jon. Having already ditched his cape many hours ago and several outer layers of clothing, Snow despite the irony of his bastard's last name was burning up. Unable to sit straight, Jon was hunched forwards with little strength to even hold onto the rains. Shallow became his breaths as his chest constricted and the ache in his side became a tearing pain. Black spots danced across his flaring vision, while his head throbbed and pounded, nulling all words from all possible thoughts. Snow wasn't aware of anything, not the extreme light-headedness, not the loss of balance and definitely not the feel of the hard ground as he fell off his horse. Darkness consumed him as he sunk into unconsciousness.

Robb, in urgency, nearly leapt off his horse while it was still in motion as he saw Jon hit the floor. At his brother's side, the elder Stark dropped onto his knees, gently raising his sibling off the ground by the shoulders.

"Jon!" Robb called frantically quickly scanning for any serious wounds. None were found. As if simply delayed in reaction Snow came round with a jolt.

"Robb?" He questioned with look of complete disorientation on his face alongside searching eyes that didn't seem to focus on anything.

"By the Gods Jon, you idiot! You fell off your horse! You should have said something if you were getting dizzy!" Robb scolded, feeling as though he was about to cry from relief. His racing heart finally began to settle itself as he held Jon tighter, afraid of getting another shock.

"Everything's so...dark..." Snow muttered, his eyebrows furrowing as he saw nothing but a wall of black.

"What do you mean?" Robb didn't want to ask, scared of the answer he was about to receive but the words had already left his mouth. The Stark heir had never been more fearful for Jon in his life than right at that moment.

"I...I can't see you," Jon replied, his voice shook as the shock of realisation hit him full force. He couldn't breathe, he could handle the headaches, the fever, the nausea, the pain, the tiredness but this...no, this was something he couldn't handle. Shaking hands reached out and grasped hold of Robb's tunic as Jon then did something he hadn't done since he was a small child and buried his face against his brother's chest in a desperate plea for comfort. But he refused to cry, Jon Snow did not cry and so, he didn't. Then Robb did something he hadn't done in a long time either, he threaded his fingers into Jon's curls and began to comb his hair gently. Robb remained silent, he had no words that could offer comfort in this situation so instead he just continued with the loving motion. Ned Stark soon approached, when sympathetic blue eyes locked with his, Eddard tensed his jaw and let his gaze slowly fall to Jon who was almost cowering against his older brother's chest.

"We'll give him a moment to calm down," Lord Stark announced with nothing but compassion in his voice, he didn't have to guess to know that Jon had just reached the blindness stage – the one in particular that he had kept hidden from his knowledge. Eddard knew his second son was strong but like everyone, he had a limit and that was one ailment that crossed over the line.

Eventually, Snow seemed to find the courage to pull away, having somehow found a way to mentally cope with this frightening new problem. Though the fact was, if it came down to it he would rather not live if it meant he wouldn't be able to see – he was already an outcast as it was, what would everyone think of him if was blind as well? What sort of life would that be? To not be able to fight, to not be able to see Robb's proud expressions or Arya's smile or even his mother may she still be alive.

"Is it permanent?" Robb questioned for his brother who he could tell didn't particularly want to speak knowing that he had hurt his own pride by clinging to Robb like a toddler. Not that he could blame him.

"The cure to the poison cures all its effects, Jon's sight will come back if we get there on time," Ned reassured, "but in the meantime he is no state to ride a horse of his own so he'll be riding with you Robb." Snow's pride took yet another wound but he quickly became tired of caring. Conversely the thought that this blindness was only temporary calmed his nerves immensely, so instead he managed to convince himself that this was just some strange training exercise to get him to train his other senses and that he was actually just wearing a blindfold. It worked.

Now with nothing but darkness to stare at, Jon started to find it even harder to stay awake, the whole word just felt so much more surreal with only sound to prove its existence, especially when he was already verging between states of consciousness. Getting on Robb's horse was quite an awkward task even with the help. Once sat atop, Snow's hands instantly found their way to the horse's mane, not really noticing how coarse the hair was before. Nor had he really noticed the feel of sturdy muscle or the silkiness of the horse's skin. Robb pulled himself up behind Jon and bent his arms past his hips to hold onto the rains. Jon didn't think too much when he decided to lean back against his brother's chest needing to feel something familiar even if it was just the motion of Robb breathing or his radiating warmth. And, for the first time ever he needed the security, Snow had never felt so vulnerable in his life knowing that was nearly nothing he could do to defend himself.

"Getting comfy are you?" Robb said not masking the playfulness but managing to do well with hiding the worry.

"I'm tired...this is already embarrassing enough, it can't hurt to use you as a mattress as well," Jon voiced on a long breath listening to the sound of hooves as they beat against the ground, it was actually a rather soothing sound, almost therapeutic.

"I suppose not, though I wouldn't think I'd be that comfy," Robb chuckled, instinctively he wrapped an arm taut around Jon's waist to hold him up having noticed the impending sleep signal his brother was giving, after all he didn't want him falling off again.

"You'd be surprised..." Snow mumbled. The older Stark at this point didn't really care how it looked to others in this position, he was keeping Jon safe and that all that mattered, if this was under any other circumstance – well they wouldn't even be sharing a horse.


	10. Noxious Snow Part 10

As the night once again took hold of the sky and strips of moonlight painted the ground, Eddard Stark called it a day and decided to make camp near a cluster of large rocks next to a small patch of woodland (which he was sure that he'd find some form of animal living inside to later hunt). Soon enough they were all sat around a small campfire trying to drive out the chill in the air with the warmth of orange flames. All but Jon who was purposely sat furthest away from the flickering heat with his back against a surprisingly smooth rock. Besides him sat Arya who despite having a bit of the shivers wanted to talk to her older brother.

"I'm sorry about your eyes Jon..." Arya muttered sounding more than just slightly apologetic, devastated was still an understatement. Jon's pain felt like her own.

"I'll manage...I mean it's only temporary," he reassured himself, his broken gaze fixated on his fiddling hands as he traced his fingers over the burning-cold metal of the dagger that Robb had given him, paying particular attention to the initials at its base.

"I know you will because you're Jon Snow, the most courageous, strong-willed and brilliant person I know. I believe in you!" Arya boasted, pouncing on her brother to give him another hug, forgetting about the blade in Jon's hand. Luckily, Snow had moved it on time having heard Arya shuffle closer to him before tackling – he really did know his sister rather well. Actually he was surprised how much better his hearing had gotten with the lack of vision.

"Careful, you could have stabbed yourself!" Jon scolded, once again being reminded of how lucky he was to have such a wonderful sister, one that knew the exact buttons to press to bring a smile to his lips – not at the almost stabbing part but just her adoring words.

"Oops...sorry," the youngest Stark daughter said sheepishly, having no sense of danger when she was relaxed. Silky long hair pressed up against Jon's pale cheek as a familiar scent of dirt and leaves mixed with a faint smell of flowery bath water filled his nose instantly forming a mental picture of his sister in his head.

"Your stubble is so itchy," Arya then giggled pulling her face away from Jon's shoulder to see the smile further spread across her siblings face. Only he could manage such a genuine smile at a time like this.

"Well if I shave it off, Theon will tease me again, he already thinks I look like a girl as it is," Snow replied. Not to mention the fact that shaving knocked off a couple more years and he didn't fancy getting mistaken for a tall fourteen-year-old.

"Well Theon's an idiot," Arya casually added, having never really liked the ward of the Stark household. He was too up himself, plus the guy was too horny for his own good – that trait in itself would probably come round and bite him in the arse at some point. The sound of a soft rumble immediately caught Jon's attention.

"I think your stomach is trying to tell you something, maybe you should go find father to get some food," Snow mentioned as a yawn escaped his lips. Considering he had slept most of the horse ride, still feeling this exhausted was concerning.

"I guess you're right, talk to you later Jon!" Arya chirped before shooting off towards her father who was casually talking to Robb. Once more Jon was left to shadows of his thoughts.

"Arya and I are going to go hunting in the woods, these apples will not sustain us throughout the night, we shouldn't be long," Ned declared not really liking the option of leaving his sons alone without the extra protection he could offer but they needed to eat and it wouldn't have been fair to leave Robb to have to look after both Jon and Arya. As soon as the two Starks were out of sight, Robb moved to sit beside Jon deciding to keep his brother company instead of keeping warm. Robb's presence was immediately noticed by Jon as he turned in his direction out of habit.

"How are you faring?" The older son questioned.

"Do you want a lie or the truth?" Jon replied flatly, mentally scolding himself for his tone which he didn't mean to sound so snappy. He was just frustrated was all, especially around Robb who was his equal so it didn't always feel like he had to hide his true emotions.

"The truth."

With a solemn sigh, Jon muttered his answer, "it's getting harder to stay awake...and even harder to wake up." He didn't want to tell Arya this but it was hard to keep it to himself. The days were getting shorter and the nights longer and Jon was afraid that soon the nights would take over entirely. But Jon had perfected his outward acting, from years of all the derisive looks and comments about his parentage, Snow had learnt to not show his feelings on the outside at all.

"Hey...don't think like that, you're not going to die, I know it," Robb encouraged snaking an arm around his sibling's shoulders and pulling him closer. He didn't want Jon giving up now, especially when they'd already gotten so far.

"I don't plan on…it's just I don't know much control I have anymore, I'm always so tired…" Snow murmured slouching to the side to lean against Robb's shoulder having given up sitting straight.

"Do you remember that time we both tried to teach Bran archery? It was about three months ago, he was so bad at it, it took him seven attempts to even pull back the arrow without it flying off at any odd angle and when he finally took his first shot he hit the barrels completely west of the target, the next time he shot it clean over the wall, I tried not to laugh because I felt bad for Bran as our father and my mother were watching, but it was so funny, you and Rickon however burst into a fit of laughter," Robb recalled finding his own joy in that memory. Bran always was rather clumsy when it came to anything that involved a weapon, but he did at least have a knack for climbing – not that it would be of use in a battle.

"It was just such a bad shot and then even funnier Arya took a shot from behind and hit a bulls-eye," Jon added, remembering the look on Bran's face when his sister showed him up and the way Arya curtsied to rub it in his face even further. They lost sight of them straight after that as Bran ran off to chase her and who knows how that went down. Arya though never particularly got along with Bran, or Sansa for that matter but Sansa tended to keep to herself.

"I can only bet that Arya is going to start beating us at sparring in a couple more years if she can manage to convince father to let her train, we may as well cherish our dignity while we still have it," the eldest Stark complained, not liking the idea of being beaten by his little sister one day, that would be humiliating. Still at the same time, like Jon, he would love to see her flourish in the art considering it was such a heartfelt passion of hers.

"Remember when Sansa was ten? Before she got all grouchy all the time," Robb began, preferring her sister before she started the teenage years. After a nod from Jon he continued, "There was one time when she first got into sewing and she really wanted to make her first piece of clothing for someone, no one really had the time to spare, except you. Her first...er...tunic – if you could call it that – was so bad, it was huge on you, looked more like a lob-sided dress and yet you still wore it the whole of the next day just to make her happy despite getting picked on so brutally by Theon."

"Well she's my sister, it's worth one day of misery to give her a good memory she can hold onto for a lifetime and also to give her the encouragement she needed to carry on her passion," Snow remarked starting to think about his sibling back home and how he was actually missing them right now. Besides every day for him held some form of misery, that day wasn't that much different.

"You've always been so noble Jon, I know I wouldn't have had the guts to wear it. Though the worst time was when father and my mother went away to visit Aunt Lysa. Septa Mordane got ill so you and I had to look after baby Rickon and we had to change his cloth..." Robb shivered at the memory which was still so vivid in his mind despite having happened over half a decade ago.

"He pissed on you, right in your face. I laughed so hard that I actually hurt my side, you threw such a huge fit so I had to take over and changed him real easy," the younger male sniggered having never seen Robb react so dramatically before that moment. Jon then understood the point of reminiscing on their family tales. They would all miss him, five broken hearts would be left in his place and that was a reason to keep staying strong.

"Yeah...you've always had my back ever since we were children even for the most small of matters. You've always been my best friend as well, it would have been both lonely and hard had I been on my own the entire time growing up. It's tough being the heir with all the responsibility being slowly put on top of my shoulders but at least I've always had someone at my side that I could always count on. I mean I know Theon has been there but he can be such a prick, besides it's always been good having an opponent I could spar with and beat that was also my equal. Again Theon is a big cheat and has more mouth on him than actual skill," Robb Stark confessed gazing up at the full moon in the sky and all the glittering stars.

"What do you mean beat? If I recall I have won far more matches than you," Jon immediately corrected.

"Oh really? How about a rematch when we get back to Winterfell? See who is better now," Stark challenged actually wondering whether he had the ability to beat his sibling who was a God given natural at swordsmanship. Still, he had a couple of months extra practice, not that it made much of a difference.

"You're on," Snow nodded just before his attention was immediately transferred. Distant footsteps caught his ears as he tried to count the pairs of feet.

One.

Two.

Three.

Instantly, Jon alerted Robb when he knew that these footsteps didn't belong to Ned and Arya. But that didn't answer the question of whether they were friend or foe nevertheless.

Four.

"Robb...there are people here, I can hear them," Jon whispered, feeling more alert that he had done in a good few days, thank the Gods for adrenaline. When Snow heard the unsheathing of a blade, he grasped hold of his dagger tight and told Robb to take out his sword.

"Stay down Jon," Robb instructed sharply.

Five.

The Stark heir sprung to his feet with his steel blade in hand as he spotted a masked swordsman jump out from behind one of the distant rocks and dart towards him. As metal classed with metal the fight began. Unlike the Wildlings in the forest whomever the assailants were, were fully trained in battle and that made it a challenge for Robb as he continued to fend off strike after strike barely finding any openings to make his own. Jon tried to concentrate but found the scraping of metal a vicious sound to his overly sensitive ears. But when he heard a second pair of feet approaching from behind the rock he was pressed up against, he sprang into action. Snow aimed his dagger, trusting his ears to tell him where to throw. It was ten percent precise use of sound and measurement, ten percent good judgement and eighty percent luck that had his dagger hit his target straight in the throat before he could attack Robb from behind. However as soon as the blood gurgling man hit the floor with a thump, the last three masked men burst out of their hiding places. Everything happened so fast from that point, Jon couldn't have predicted the blow to the back of his head from all the noise and Robb, distraught on seeing a large man pick his brother off the floor and throw him over his shoulder didn't notice as the second blow was dealt and he too found himself in darkness.

A small boar was what Arya had managed to shoot down during the hunt. She was a little disappointed in herself when her first shot did not kill the animal but simply brought it down. Eddard nevertheless was extremely proud. The camp was too quiet, Ned knew instantly something was wrong when he saw that the horses were nowhere to be found and the smell of blood filled the burning air. Arya tensed when she couldn't see either of her older brothers within her sight, finding it hard to believe that they had experienced yet another misfortune. When all Lord Stark was met with was the sight of a dead body, he collapsed to his knees and pounded the ground with his fists. His boys, his eldest sons were missing...how could things get so bad? The young Stark girl scurried over towards the body left in the dirt, pulling out the dagger that was imbedded in the cadaver's cold blue neck.

"Jon...This is Jon's dagger!" Arya announced returning to her father who had his head dipped towards the ground as if he had already given up. The sound of Arya's energetic voice suddenly made him see sense. He looked up noting the initials carved into the hilts base knowing that they could only belong to his son. Taking the item off of Arya he recognized the expensive materials the blade was made out of and assumed that it must have been one of Jon's name day gifts so he slipped in into his belt for safe-keeping.

"Whatever went down, they didn't go down without a fight," Arya reassured, "they can't be too far away...we can track them!" Ned pulled himself together as he told himself that this was in absolutely no way the time to give up when his sons needed him more than ever.

"This is going to be a challenge without a horse, but the night for once is on our side. This was no Wildling attack if it was we would have found bodies not to mention the armour on this man is not from over the wall which means the culprits will have made camp somewhere, if we move fast we may be able to catch up," Eddard noted, "we're going to have to pass on supper."

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo what do you think? Continue material??


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